Page 18 - Affirmative Action Programs News Today

March on washington, martin luther king and all of us announced it, and the concern of the civil rights community is that this court must affirm that race is a factor we have to deal with in our lifetime. we are not in a position where things are beyond race and that we are in an after or post-racial generation and for the court to duck this issue certainly is not what we wanted. it is better than saying no but its much less than affirmation. >> as i was talking about with chairman emeritus bond...

Case, a public university, to show that it was okay to use race as a factor in admissions. but in fact, by emphasizing that a school has to show theres no reasonable, workable, race-neutral alternative, the court really is changing the law a little. its setting the bar -- its setting a higher standard for colleges to meet when they get sued over their affirmative action programs. its very possible that some schools wont be able to meet the standard. >> right, pete. sometimes it seems like strict...

Breathe. the presidents office isnt confirming that, but it is saying that, so the doctors are doing everything they can. nelson mandelas wife is at his bedside, as she has been for the last two weeks. weve also seen his ex-wife arrive escorted by police. that suggests she was in a hurry to get here. people just watching and waiting and praying, tamron. >> all right. thank you very much. and time now for the news nation gut check. as we mentioned to you, the supreme court today imposed a stric...

Abigail fisher and her case had the standing to be before them but theyve sent it back? >> the universities have options. other things they could do but they wont create the diverse student body they want to create. there is no alternative to some kind of race test in affirmative angion. if you want to get beyond race as someone once said you have to get to race. if you want a diverse student body around the country you have to have some kind of race-based formula. doesnt mean race is the only t...

That requires states with a history of discriminating minorities to get federal approval before changing their election laws. and finally the fisher v. texas case that could be a key decision on affirmative action programs at colleges and universities. joining me now is nbcs justice correspondent pete williams there at the supreme court. this could be a significant day. for the first time in a long time, theres several major issues at play right now. how do we expect these may go? what do we thi...

Mentioned shelby county case and fisher case, a big affirmative action which will decided by june in the supreme court. what we see in affirmative is what a scholar called ideological drift, it was at one end of the spectrum, drifts over to the other side of the spectrum, as you were describing in your essay at the beginning. his example is color-blindness. color-blindness comes from dissent. its seen as idea logically part of the left. now in more recent years its drifted over in the courts lan...

The u.s. supreme court on the verge of two major decisions, dealing with racial discrimination in the country. in the coming weeks, affirmative action programs at the nations public colleges and universities could be uprooted and a federal statute that guards against discrimination in state and local voting procedures could be weakened. joining me is ary melberg, host of msnbcs "the cycle." its a pleasure to have you here away from those cyclists, this way you can talk on your own. court is soon...

Women, does it? >> martin, it has a lot to do with equal opportunity or the lack thereof in this country. i think that when you just take a look at whats before the supreme court right now with the fisher case, and university of texas and the fact that affirmative action programs are absolutely on the line as being unconstitutional now. that is an open door that will be closed to students of color. so when youre talking about not only unequal earning, earning potential of women, or the fact that...

Passing in maryland and maine. still too early to tell if washington, itself, will follow suit. but voters in minnesota said no to placing a ban on gay marriage in the states constitution. >> californians voted for repeal to the death penalty. the sentences of 700 death row prisoners will now be changed to life in prison. in oklahoma they voted to wipe out all affirmative action programs in state government hiring, education, and contracting practices. also a coup for all the women out there. we...

In congress. thats why were here. >> congressman mcgovern, will you take the heat? will the president take the heat from the right? and it will come. you democrats cost us afghanistan by pulling the plug on this. >> the taliban are awful rotten people. but there are a lot of awful rotten people all over the world. we cant occupy every country. heres my hope. if we can set a timeline, if we can set an exit strategy, that will put pressure on the afghan government to either step up or not. the res...